Dusk and summer
by AngelKruger
Summary: My first try with this couple, cause they too deserve some luv.


Hi there, people!

I'm so sorry for leaving you guys hanging in there with my other story, but I have a good excuse, this is one shot that I wrote while listening to the song 'Dusk and summer' and the idea just popped into my head, hope u like it!

This goes specially to jquackers, if u ever read this, I just want to say i'm sorry for the long wait, but my heart goes into this story for u, HAPPY (late) BIRTHDAY my little friend!

Disclaimer: I don't own Mai HiME nor the song used for this fic, and i'll be damned I still don't own Nao T_T

DUSK AND SUMMER

By AngelKruger

It's a beautiful summer day, the last rays of the sun hit the waves of the sea casting everything in an almost surreal orange glow, I can smell the sea salt being carried by the gentle breeze, and if I close my eyes, I know I'll be able to hear her voice again, even if just for a second.

It's been 35 years since the first time we watched the sunset together and 5 since the last, but for me, it feels as if it was just yesterday that I held her in my arms while we watched the last rays of the sun disappear in the horizon.

I always loved her, since the first time that I lay my eyes on her, that soft smile dancing in her beautiful pink lips, her kind eyes, her being altogether mesmerized me, I was hers before she even said 'Hello'.

*

It was my first day as a high school student at the prestigious Fuuka academy, I stood at the end of the long path that led to the main building, I was quite early for class so instead of going to the classroom I decided to just stay outside and check out the other students.

I was sitting on a bench near the main doors when I saw her.

Her rich chocolate brown hair framed her angelical face, full pink lips closed while she listened to the girl walking by her side, a real life porcelain doll, and then, just as she walked by my side, she looked at me.

And time seemed to slow down for me, everything around us was a blur, all I could see was her amazing azure eyes and the soft smile that she gave me in that instant, that's when I fell in love with her.

_**She smiled in a big way, the way a girl like that smiles**_

_**When the world is hers and she held your eyes**_

*

That's the first time I saw her, it was then that I fell in love with the girl with eyes that held the endless sky and the deepest ocean.

I later on found out that we were in the same class, I sat by her side and introduced myself, we spent almost every day together since then.

For me it was love at first sight, but it continued growing as time passed, I mean, what was there not to love, she was gorgeous, humble, funny and kind, simply perfect to my eyes.

We were just friends for what seems an eternity, it took me almost 3 years to finally gather the courage to confess my feelings, I was so scared of losing her, but at the end I couldn't stop myself from telling her how much I loved her, and sometimes I wish I hadn't been so afraid, cause we could have had more time to ourselves, but I guess what matters the most is that at the end, she was mine, just as I was hers since the beginning.

*

It was Valentine's day, we spent the whole day together just fooling around, it was a perfect summer day, and I was happier than I ever had been, it was getting late and I knew we had to go back before her parents got worried.

We were sitting on a table outside the small cafe where we always met, even if the thought saddened me, I knew that our day together was coming to an end.

I payed the bill and headed outside to make our way to the train station, but just as I was going to turn in the direction of the station, she started walking the other way, for a second, I just stood there dumbfounded, looking at her back.

And my God, she looked so beautiful, she was wearing a light blue summer dress with white sandals and nothing else, except the silver chain holding the locket she always wore, the one that I gave her for her 16th birthday.

I was so engrossed looking at her, that I didn't notice that I was still standing by the door 'till she spoke.

"I sure hope you're enjoing the view"

It took me a few seconds to react, I didn't actually heard the words, but I could see the teasing in her eyes.

"Eh?"

"I asked if you're coming with me or are you just going to stand there the rest of the day"

"Yeah, I'm coming"

I jogged the small distance to her and then we started walking slowly with no apparent destination.

"Mmmm... where exactly are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there"

"Ooook"

She just smiled at me and continued walking.

We walked in a comfortable silence for about 15 minutes and I still had no idea where exactly we were going until I smelled the salt in the air.

_**Out in the breezeway **_

_**down by the shore in the lazy summer**_

She took off her shoes and I did the same, the sand felt warm under my feet, and again, we just walked in silence feeling each other's presence.

We finally stopped on a spot pretty far from the main docks, she sat down in the sand and I followed suit.

We looked at the sea for a long moment, each one lost in our own thoughts.

I had a serene smile in my face, but inside me, a raging storm was taking place, half of me wanted to reach out and take her in my arms, and tell her once and again how much I loved her, but the other half of me was scared shitless, cause yes, I was dying to tell her how I felt but the though of rejection and losing her kept me at bay.

But when I looked at her my resolve to keep quiet crumbled, there, basking in the soft rays of dusk, was the woman that stole my heart.

"Aoi?"

"Yes?"

I looked down at my hands resting in my lap and fidgeted with the hem of my white shirt.

"I, um... you know I just..."

_'C'mon, this is your chance, it's now or never!'_

"You what, Chie?"

"I wa-want you to kn..."

_'Oh. My. God. Just say it!'_

"What is it?"

"I love you, you know, as in 'I'm in love' with you"

And then silence, I must confess that those were the longest seconds of my life, I was terrified, there was only one thing running through my mind.

_'Damn it, I blew it, now she hates me'_

I was just about to start apologizing, when she broke the silence first.

"I know"

"Uh?"

_'Reeeally smooth you idiot'_

"I said I know, I've always known actually"

"But... how?"

She then looked at me and kissed me.

_**And she pulled you in, and she **_

_**bit your lip, and she made you hers**_

_**She looked deep into you as you lay **_

_**together quiet in the grasp of dusk and summer**_

When we stopped to get some much needed air, she gave me the answer that I only dared to dream coming from her lips.

"Cause I'm in love with you too"

*

We became an official couple that day, some of you may be wondering, and their parents?

Well, let me tell you that I had the coolest parents in the world, so as long as I was happy, they were happy too.

And her parents were really accepting too, I thought that they were just open minded too, I'm kinda glad that they didn't gave me the real reason why.

_**But you've already lost**_

_**When you only had barely enough to hang on**_

The years went by, and by the time we were done with high school, I felt as if my life was already complete, the girl that I loved loved me back and we both had a promising future in the Tokyo University.

We spent almost every day together, just enjoying our time together, I was in heaven, everything was perfect, she helped me grow, she showed me how great life could really be, she showed me things that I never noticed before, with her I learned to pay attention to the little things around us, the little things that I always took for granted and that helped shape our world, she made me want to be better not just for her but for myself.

_**And she combed your hair, and she kissed your teeth**_

_**And she made you better than you'd been before**_

One day during our sophomore year just before our afternoon class, she came running to me with a pretty unusual idea coming from her.

*

"Chie!"

I turned around from the post where I was leaning against waiting for her and gave her a soft kiss.

"Hey what's up, love?"

"Let's ditch class"

"What?"

"I said, let's ditch class"

"Yeah I heard you the first time, but I just had to make sure, are you ok, you don't feel well?"

"I'm fine, I just want to go to the beach, please?"

I knew something was up, but I couldn't deny her anything.

"Ok, let's go then."

"Thank you, hon"

So we went to the beach and did the same thing we did every time we went there, we walked in silence by the shore, and then sat in the sand to take in our sorroundings.

_**She told you bad things you wished you could change in the lazy summer**_

We talked just about anything that came to our minds, just to keep the awkward silence away, which was really freaking me out, but I could and would not push her to tell me what was really in her mind, she would tell me when she was ready.

"You know I brought you here for a reason, right?"

"Yes, but it's ok, you can take your time"

We stayed there in silence, and then just as the dusk began, she spoke again.

"I'm going to die"

It was said barely above a whisper, but to me it sounded as is if she was shouting, I knew what she meant, but I refused to believe it.

"We're all going to die eventually, my love"

"That's not what I mean and you know it, I'm sick, there's not much they can do for me except wait"

Those simple words pierced my heart, I knew she was sick, but never to that extent.

I felt something break inside of me, I didn't know what to say, what could I say 'Oh I'm sorry?'

I couldn't find the words to say what I was feeling, just when I thought I had everything, reality came crashing down on me, on the future that I once dreamed for us.

I felt a lump in my throat, it was begging to get harder to breathe, the sting of tears in my eyes made my vision blurry, I really wanted to cry, but her words stopped me.

"I'm not defeated yet, I will fight for a chance to have a life with you"

_**And she told you, laughing down to her core, **_

_**so she would not cry as she lay in your lap**_

She said:

_"Nobody here can live forever, quiet in the grasp of dusk and summer"_

*

That day, she made me promise that I would be strong for her, that we would fight together against whatever came our way, we would find a way, we would not go down without a fight.

Life continued it's course, and against all odds, she managed to finish her career as a journalist, and she even got a job at a local newspaper, I graduated with honors and became a free lance photographer.

Life was good, but we were constantly living under the shadow of fear, but we kept going on no matter what, but five years ago she lost the battle against her own heart.

*

We were home resting after a long day of work, we were working together in one of the biggest stories of the year, she had been feeling weaker lately, but she refused to stop working.

"You should stay home, love"

"No, I won't give up the only other thing besides you that makes me feel normal"

"Ok, but no matter what, you are as normal as me" I said as I kissed the top of her head.

"Not so normal then"

I took me a moment to finally understand the meaning behind her words, all the while, she was smiling deviously at me.

"Oh, oh, oh, veeery funny"

"Sometimes you can be so slow, hon"

I kept quiet, for there was no arguing against that statement.

The days slowly rolled by and the situation was the same, she was still tired but kept going on, and the only thing I could do was be there for her, I even took some extra time off just to be with her, she didn't showed it, but I could tell she was nearing the end of her strength, but I was there to lend her mine.

Just about a month before her departure from this world, we were at home on a Saturday afternoon when she asked me if we could go to the beach, once we were settled in the same spot where we always sat, she laid her head in my lap while I ran my fingers through her silky hair.

I remember by heart the whole conversation, but there's one specific thing that left a mark in my heart.

She said:

_"No one is alone the way you are alone"_

At first I didn't quite get the meaning of her words, and she must have noticed, cause she explained it to me.

"What I'm trying to say is that you won't be actually alone, no matter how, I'll find a way to be with you, 'till we can be reunited again"

_**And you held her looser than you would have if you ever could have known**_

*

Even if some of my memories with her are sad ones, I still treasure them as my most valued possessions, it was really hard watching her go, but I tried to see everything thru her eyes, I had to be strong or else she wouldn't go in peace.

I try to keep every smile, every glance, every touch and every kiss we ever shared stored in my mind and heart, from that first smile that made me fall in love with her, to the last kiss we shared before saying goodnight for the last time, those are some of the things that remind me that what we had was real.

_**Some things tie your life together, slender threads and things to treasure**_

Now here I am, in the same spot we used to sit every time we came down to the beach, at first it was hard coming here by myself, but I've made peace with the past, I know she's still with me, waiting for the right time to be together again, I have no regrets, no complains.

I come here as often as I can, to try and revive those long gone days, to smell her scent mixed with the smell of the salt in the air, and to watch the sun disappear in the horizon, where she's waiting for me.

_**Days like that should last and last and last**_

_**But you've already lost...**_

I'll wait patiently for my time to go with her, honoring 'till the end the promise I made to her, I will keep going on, I'll keep my head held high and a smile in my face, she showed me how to live, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do, live.

_**When you only had barely enough of her to hang on.**_

_**FIN**_


End file.
